Partnerships are a key part of making projects successful in
Haiti. Before coming here we were contacted by a Dr. from the US who wanted to
start a cervical cancer screening program here. We gladly offered to help out
with the project. Once we got here we hit the ground running trying to find a
place to be able to implement this program. I was then introduced to Dr. Travant
a local Haitian doctor who graciously offered to run the program at the
hospital she works, Fort St. Michel. After a couple weeks of skyping, meetings,
emails, phone calls and fingers crossed that all would go over well we started
the screening!
When we showed up there was a bit of a mix-up in communication.
The women were told to show up on Nov 7th not today, but hey it’s
Haiti! By 1100 after calling the woman they started to arrive. Things here may
not always go as you exactly plan, but it all works out in the end! 90 women
ended up showing up to get their height, weight, BP taken and to be asked
questions about their sexual health. On Friday we saw 42 more ladies.
They then will come back on Nov 8th for the HPV swab; it then gets
sent to the lab in Port au Prince and takes about 6-8 weeks to obtain the
results. Those who are positive will come back for further testing for cervical
cancer. Nov 8th will also be a time for education on HPV and
cervical cancer.
The exciting news is that we are able to use money from our
donations to fund this entire project! A huge thank you goes out to those who
donated to our trip, you are helping women in Haiti to live longer, cancer free
lives!
interesting
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